It was standard procedure. I wrote some preview stories last week. They were tweaked over the weekend and the audio recorded. Photographer Bonnie matched the words to the pictures and we're good to go today.
Barring breaking news, it's a look at the big races for Newswatch 16 This Morning, followed by an election update for our noon broadcast.
After that, it's home. Lunch. Nap. Evening of watching the numbers come in on WNEP2 and WNEP.com.
Notice, I left something out. Voting. May elections are to select party nominees for the November election. I don't belong to any party, so I have to sit this one out. I can vote on ballot questions, but there are none in my area this time around.
I'll try to get a few updates here as the day rolls along, and possibly a Tweet or two.
I have some ideas on who wins and why. Post election analysis will be shared in this space tomorrow.
Off year elections usually have low turnout, and that's unfortunate. I've always believed your local offices-- mayor, council, school board are more important than president, house and senate. The people we elect today control the taxes, the city services, police, fire, schools, etc.
Do yourself and your community a favor today. Vote.
>>> 11:00 AM UPDATE: Noon piece is edited and is good to go. We're live at noon with the latest.
>>> 10:00 AM UPDATE: Sorry it's been five hours between updates, but I got busy. Some Wilkes-Barre precincts had a large voter turnout early. In Scranton, mixed. A couple of precincts were dead at mid morning. Some others were a little busier. Looks like the Lackawanna County Commissioner's race and Scranton School Board are bringing people out.
My noon story has been approved and is ready to go. I'm about to record the audio and get rolling.
>>> 5:00 AM UPDATE: Live at a polling place along Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre. Nice location. Plenty of parking, lots of room to run lights, cables, and wires. Thankfully, the rain has stopped, but there's the potential for more. Conventional wisdom has rain keeping casual voters home. That has to worry some candidates. Polls open in two hours.
>>> 3:30 AM UPDATE: Finished fast food spicy chicken sandwich and fries for breakfast. I considered changing election morning meals because service and quality at the only fast food outlet that sells that stuff overnights has gone downhill. I decided to give it one more try. It's improved, just a little. After arriving at work, it was like a pre flight check. Scripts and video look good. It was a couple of other duties, and it's just about time to get on the road.
